Bear in the Woods
by Curiosally
Summary: An illegitimate child works to prove herself in a village ridden with secrets and debauchery. Missions, romance, action, drinking. What else is one to expect of a jonin who works her butt off? Will eventually reach intimate scenes. Warning: Slight spoilers!
1. Enter Kurokuma Kobayashi!

Four figures sped through the trees as they returned to their home of Konohagakure. On particular kunoichi was having quite the fit of excitement. She had been on a multitude of missions in the last month, and at last, the hokage had guaranteed her a day off, to which she much deserved. The adventure they were coming back from was nothing more than an escort B-rank mission. However, they had a minor scrape with a couple of rogue ninja, presumed to have defected from the Village Hidden in the Mist. No one was in any immediate danger, so the adversaries were simply knocked out and the team moved forward with their task. As the large gates leading into the Leaf Village finally came into view, a series of relieved sighs escaped the mouths of the group. "We're home," a petite, dark skinned kunoichi muttered.  
A dark haired male let out a grunt, then added on, "Time for a nice hot bath," before they landed just outside the gates. The troop was exhausted, and no one seemed more relieved to be home than the definite leader of the group. "Oh hush now, Jinrai. There are much grander things to look forward to now that we are home!" uttered a tall, sun-kissed man, quickly lighting a cigarette as they walked into the hallowed streets of their village. Handfuls of academy students came to greet them, namely the girl on their team as she seemed to draw them in.  
"Did you beat up any bad guys?" One boy asked.  
"Did you meet any handsome boys?" asked a girl.  
More questions were shouted, almost incoherently, one over the other. "Settle down, kids. I can't hear all of you." With her calm, tired voice, the children hushed. She began to explain the gist of their mission, not wanting to traumatize the children with any of the nitty-gritty and gore infested details.  
The children left, giggling and muttering among themselves. "Glad that's over." murmured the last member of their group to speak. The girl looked at him spitefully. "Don't be such a buzz-kill, Uryou." The gray haired boy simple scoffed and headed for what would be assumed as home. "Where are you going," the girl began, although the older man seemed distant, "Hinoke? Where are you going?" She inquired.  
"Oh! I'm sorry Kuma! I'm probably just going to head to the tavern. Care to share a drink?" The tired male asked. The girl's mass of hair just seemed to swish, perhaps having shaken her head 'yes'.  
"I would enjoy that. Thank you." She said with a weak smile. As courteous as she behaved, she was as vile and brash as any of the boys, now almost all being chuunin some even as far as jonin, that she had trained with in the academy. Her pace seemed forced, and rather close to a shuffle. Eventually the other two younger men split their course and headed to their own destinations, leaving just the man referred to as Hinoke and the younger woman nicknamed Kuma. The remaing two entered Shushuya and set their packs in a booth.  
"Two sake, please!" The somewhat scruffy faced man said as he lifted his hand slightly to notify the man working behind the counter. "On it, Hinoke!" The man called as he, brough them two bottles and their sake glasses.  
The booth was surrounded by silence for a great deal of time, then suddenly the only noise to be heard was the flick of two fingers as the male jonin lit his cigarette, and one more clicking of fingers as he lit that of his counterpart. "Thanks," she muttered. The two continued on without much noise, content in their surroundings. Eventually the kunoichi broke the silence, messing with her uneven, shaggy quaff. 


	2. The Syruo Ninja

Kurokuma looked at her leader, someone she had grown over the years to see as a dear friend. "So Hinoke...what do you think will be our next mission? Now that Kakashi is the Hokage, things finally seem to have settled between the villages. We're only receiving missions from small villages within the five nations." She questioned. The jonin scratched his beard in contemplation.

"You know, I really don't mind either which way. I just live day by day, enjoying the time I have with my comrades. This village is my home, and I want to do everything I can to ensure my comrades in this village survive and thrive in this time of temporary peace." The honey skinned man responded.

The mint haired kunoichi crinkled her nose in dissatisfaction. "You are always such a twit. All mushy and caring about everyone but yourself. You could stand to have a few more moments of selfishness in your life." She muttered softly, her freckled nose still scrunched up in lack of amusement.

"Yo! Hinoke! Back from that mission already?!" A shaggy black haired man said as he and another man entered Shushuya. "Yes, Kotetsu, we are back from that escort mission." He replied with a stifled sigh. 'Not these bozos again', the jonin thought to himself. The new man invited himself to their booth, while his companion stood there with an unsure look upon his face. "Is it alright if we join you?" The other long haired man asked, to which Kurokuma nodded slightly as she shot down another glass of sake.

"We're not paying for your drinks though." Hinoke interjected, suddenly more stern than usual. "Oh don't be such a buzz-kill! Drinks are on us!" The bandage faced intruder proclaimed, his partner letting out a disgruntled groan. "Name's Kotetsu. The kill-joy I call my partner is Izumo." The seemingly irresponsible, shaggy haired ninja said, introducing them both.

The more respectable of the two took out what appeared to be a handkerchief and placed it on the table before putting his hands down to rest them. "Ah. So we have sticky fingers, and clean freak. What an interesting pair you two make." Kurokuma said with a soft chuckle. Izumo's eyes widened at the statement. "He's...sticky fingers?" He questioned, placing his hand over his mouth to restrain a laugh as Kotetsu became very offended and loud, proclaiming his protest.

"Kotetsu, was it? Let's just say, I spend enough time in the Hokage's office to pass by you sneaking pure syrup. Have you always had such unusual food cravings?" She asked softly, taking another sip of her sake. The germophobe's eyes seemed to only widen further at the accusations, although they were not inaccurate to any extent.

"Yes." The swift and simple reply traveled from the syrup loving ninja's lips. Kurokuma could not keep her giggles at bay. "I'm sorry...I just needed to let you know. If it makes you feel any better, I have an unrealistic love of chips." She added softly, sipping at her sake again as to try and avoid talking much further. Suddenly, all the males at the table exploded into uproarious laughter. Her expression contorted, she knew not what she had done to cause such an outbreak.

Kotetsu cleared his throat and the laughter began to sizzle down. "Is she always this...uh...blunt?" He asked, a smirk still playing on his face as he tried to keep from breaking out in laughter once more. Hinoke simply nodded and sipped his sake, clearly enjoying this side of his teammate who seldom spoke, if only to insult a comrade until the sun dipped passed the horizon.

Many drinks were passed around, and many hours passed as well. The four seemed to be getting along swimmingly after the initial tension had dissipated. They had discussed their most trivial missions, the ones that were the most hilarious, the most life threatening. They'd all been on so many adventures, yet rarely had the opportunity to interact as a group. This was shaping up to be a regular routine by the looks of things. 


End file.
